"That's the last of them," Thor stated as he crushed the head of an Ascended Giant easily with nothing but his bare hands. Next to him was the Valkyrie who shared many of his facial features. The beautiful Valkyrie evaded the blow of an Ascended Giant herself, before twisting her body and making her way behind the Frost Giant to deliver a devastating jab to its temple. Then she leaped high into the air and came crushing down with her sword.
*Whish*
The head of the Frost Giant came off quite simply. These two made killing Ascenders look really simple.
"Don't wipe that on your cape," Thrud, daughter of Thor and one of the Heads of the Valkyries chided as she forcefully separated the God of Thunder's hands from his cape. Alas, the simple thunder god had already wiped much of the blood and gore onto his golden cape.
"Sorry," Thor shrunk back from his daughter's piercing gaze.
"Frigg worked hard to make that cape for you. Forget it." Thrud sighed and gave up. Her father was beyond redemption.
"Any loses?" Thrud turned to ask the Valkyrie who had only just arrived at her side. All around them were several giant corpses. Frozen soil and blood populated the battlefield, and a disgusting smell of rot and decay was starting to assault the senses of those who had lived past the violence of the battle.
"Yes," the Valkyrie nodded her head and proceeded to inform Thrud of their loses. "We lost 15 Valkyries. Only 35 remain."
"I see. May they rest in the halls of Valhalla," Thrud struck her chest and said.
"May they rest in the halls of Valhalla," the other Valkyries imitated her actions in a dignified and united manner.
"Have the others search the battlefield for the souls of the warriors worthy to join the ranks of Asgard. You know what to do with those that are not." Thrud ordered.
The golden armored warriors who had fallen weren't warriors of Asgard but warriors of this world. However, since this world was under the jurisdiction of Asgard, they had every right to take what belonged to them. The warriors with pure and eager hearts who fought to the end without entertaining any thoughts of cowardice would surely be chosen to join the gallant forces of Asgard. As for those that were deemed unworthy, their souls would be allowed to return to Hel.
"Yes Thrud," the Valkyrie struck her chest with a fist gently before handing out Thrud's orders to the others.
"How does it feel to be back?" Thor smiled and asked. "To have others calling you Thrud again. I bet you had forgotten that that is your original name." Thor laughed and added. Thrud's eyebrows twitched in annoyance, before she lifted her fist and struck Thor.
"Ouch," Thor grimaced as his laughter was cut short by another ferocious punch to the shoulder from Thrud. That punch was filled with Edict, and though he was well beyond harm due to his powerful runic armor, it still hurt.
"It was just a question. No need to be so mean about it." Thor rubbed his sore shoulder and said.
"I had to leave Mane, Dad. A punch is the least you should be getting. I kept telling you to be on your guard concerning Loki. Especially when he returned a few years ago. But noooo. You kept talking about how you had been brothers for so long and how there was no way he would be a menace to the security of Asgard." Thrud gritted her teeth and said. Her words had Thor smiling bitterly.
"I guess I deserved that," Thor admitted.
"Heimdall isn't here to see through the schemes of others. And grandfather is still God knows where, searching for God knows what. Grandma Frigg and Grandaunt Freya are the only reasonable ones left in Asgard. But their task is administrative. You only had to keep an eye on Loki. Just that. What on earth were you doing?!"
Thrud didn't spare Thor any of his dignity. She created a shield around them so that no one could hear what they were saying. But her screaming figure and Thor's flinching frame could be seen by those outside the shield. However, the Valkyries just ignored what was going on. They kept reaping the souls of those worthy across the battlefield. They were clearly not interested in something that they saw at least once each day – Thrud chastising her father.
As for the golden armored warriors of this world, they didn't dare to approach the gods and goddesses of Asgard. Mortals couldn't approach gods. Only gods could approach mortals.
"Searching for the Chaotic Flame," Thor smiled as he gave his reply to his daughter's enquiry.
"Why were you doing that?" Thrud was thrown off by the answer. Her voice subconsciously went lower when she asked her question.
"We needed a soul weapon for Mane," Thor confessed with a shrug.
"That…" Thrud began to stutter upon hearing his reply. And then a small blush crept up her cheeks as she realised that she had been chastising her father for something he was doing for her son.
"I'm sorry father," she apologized.
"Don't be," Thor waved her apology away. "You were right you know. I could have just sent Forseti to search for the materials and stayed behind to assist Freya and Frigg. But I was eager to get a breather and didn't think about the consequences of making such a decision." Thor admitted.
"So, did you find it?" Thrud asked with a bit of expectation shinning in her lovely eyes.
"Haha. Look at you all excited, just like when you were little." Thor laughed boisterously.
"No I'm done! I'm done!" The Thunder God of the 1st Heaven hastily waved his hands before him when he saw Thrud balling her fist and raising them up.
"I not only found it, but I found Devilstone as well," Thor replied with a bit of sweat forming on his forehead.
"How did you ever manage that?" Thrud asked without bothering to hide her surprise. If her grandfather had been the one saying this, she wouldn't have been surprised. After all, Odin was a wise god before he was a battle god. But the one saying this was her father who knew nothing but war and chaos. Even with Forseti's help, it was still unbelievable that he had achieved his goals in such little time.
"We had help," Thor admitted. He wasn't offended by her lack of faith in his skills as an explorer. Anyone who knew the slightest bit about him knew that he was anything but that.
"Who?" Thrud asked with furrowed brows. Anyone who could lead Thor to Devilstone and Chaotic Flames was bound to be as wise as, if not wiser than Odin. And to get such a person's help certainly must have come at a cost.
"Ananse," Thor stated simply.
Thrud's mouth was wide open in surprise. Of all the names she expected to hear, the one that belonged to the goddess Thrud strove to become was not one of them.
"There you go," Thor reached out and gently pushed Thrud's lower jaw back into place. His actions brought her back to earth. And her fist that connected solidly with his shoulder was enough to show that she wasn't best pleased by his actions.
"Ouch! I was only trying to help!" Thor protested.
"That's not how you help! I am not a child anymore!" Thrud fumed with a red face.
"Hehe. I can't help it." Thor scratched his head and said. "No matter how old a child gets, she is still her father's baby. When Mane is older you will understand." Thor smiled and said. And Thrud couldn't help but keep silent at his words.
"So, where is his soul weapon? Has it been created yet?" Thrud asked, eager to change the subject.
"It has," Thor nodded his head and said. "It was completed six months ago, along with his armor and support weapons," Thor smiled and said.
"That's great!" Thrud couldn't help but beam in excitement, prompting the Valkyries who were passing by to watch her in amazement. They had never seen their leader this excited before.
"Yes," Thor admitted. His face was full of pride as he witnessed Thrud's reaction. He looked like he forged the weapons himself.
"What does it look like – the sword?" Thrud asked.
"It is not a sword," Thor shook his head and said.
"What? Mane only knows how to use a sword proficiently." Thrud frowned and said.
"If it's not a sword, what is it? A spear, a bow, a machete?"
"No," Thor smiled and said. "It is an axe."
"What!!!"
*Bang*
"Ouch!!!"
"Of all the weapons you could have gotten him, you picked an axe?! Who is going to teach him how to use that?!" Thrud fumed as she mounted Thor and struck him over and over again.
"Are all the gods and goddesses this violent?" a few of the golden armored soldiers couldn't help but wonder. They shivered involuntarily from the powerful fragments of Edict that escaped the confines of the shield. If they were told that those two were father and daughter there was no way any of them would believe it.
"I wonder what he did to make Thrud so mad," one of the Valkyries shook her head and only glanced briefly at the duo before resuming her task. The others also had wry smiles on their faces. Yet they still focused on the task at hand.
After about 2 minutes of continuously pummeling her father into the ground, Thrud's anger was sated. It was hard to believe that the one known as Alexis across the myriad of realms, who was famed for using her brain to solve most of her problems, could become this violent.
"You were really heavy handed," Thor touched his bruised face and said. One of his eyes was blackened entirely, and his lips had several cuts on them. However, his armor lit up as several strange runes engulfed him, and in less than a few seconds, all these wounds disappeared.
"You deserved it," Thrud was still fuming.
"Well I guess I wasn't thinking properly when I made that request." Thor apologized.
"The thing was, I felt within me that a sword wasn't the way to go. I tried settling for the spear but that also felt wrong. Only when we decided on an axe did things fell right."
"We?" Thrud asked.
"Yeah. Father and myself." Thor stated whilst touching his jaw. Although the wounds were gone, it still hurt.
"Grandfather was part of this?" Thrud was surprised. "Yeah," Thor nodded. "He felt the same as I. We both decided on an axe." Thor added.
"I see. I am sorry then." Thrud apologized honestly. If her grandfather said so as well, then it really was decreed by the heavens.
"So where is the axe?" Thrud asked.
"Being tempered – on Nidavellir."
"I see," Thrud stroked her chin and said.
"And I also got Mane another present," Thor smiled mysteriously and said.
"What present?" Thrud asked.
"It's a surprise," Thor laughed.
"Oh no you don't," Thrud immediately protested. "All your surprises are usually horrible. You are going to tell me what the surprise is right now," she demanded.
"Okay okay," Thor lifted his hands in mock surrender. "I got him a few new recruits." Thor stated.
"Oh? Well that doesn't sound so bad." Thrud was a bit relieved. Her father's gift wasn't as horrible as she thought.
"Where are these recruits?" she wondered.
"On a mission – an important mission." Thor's expression grew stern when he spoke. Thrud was intrigued by this, and was eager to know what this mission was. But something else invaded her mind, and her expression changed swiftly.
"Wait a minute. You need a person's blood and hair to consolidate a Soul Weapon, much less a Chief Soul Weapon. The fact that you said the weapon has been made means that this has been done." Thrud stated coldly as several fragments of Edict rushed into her fists.
"Hold on honey," Thor took a few steps back as sweat poured from his forehead.
"You took Mane's blood?! He's just a boy! And even worse, he's your grandson!"
*Bang*
"Ouch!"